Snowfall
by SkywardShadow
Summary: It was snowing on the day he met her. And it was also snowing on the day he found out that 'she' was a he. Almost SuiHaku; crack pairing but not crackfic.


Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of its characters. K?

**A/N: Ahh, the crackity romance. I love it. XD Most perceived OOCness can be blamed on the fact that this is a **_**young**_** Suigetsu. Y'know, the cute little kid who liked to chop people's limbs off? Oh, yes, and the fact that this is another semi-crack piece. Enjoy.**

**;;;**

_Snowfall_

**;;;**

Looking back, that day had started out perfectly normal.

Suigetsu and his elder brother, Mangetsu, had gone through their typically strenuous training routines. Somehow, when it ended, the younger of the two found himself with some rare free time on his hands.

The white-haired seven-year-old wandered the quiet streets of Kiri aimlessly, watching the snow piling up. He'd never liked snow, even though it was basically just a type of solidified water. He supposed he just didn't like being cold.

After a few minutes of walking the prodigy stopped, sighed, and turned back. _Guess I'm not used to having time to myself, _he thought. _When I finally get some, I don't know what to do with it._

Suigetsu had just turned onto a particularly empty road when he tripped over something rather big and ended up sprawling in the icy snow. A yelp wrung itself from his throat without permission from his brain. _It's cold,_ his mind moaned unnecessarily. _I __**hate**__ being cold._

He picked himself up off the ground, scowling, and turned to glare at the offending object.

Which, as it turned out, was not an object but a person. A small, pitiful, and ragged scrap of a person, but a person nonetheless. Naturally, having a witness to his embarrassment didn't do anything to lighten the boy's mood.

"Hey!" he snapped. "Watch it, huh?!"

The person's head lifted, and the rest of Suigetsu's rant died a rapid death in his throat as he found himself staring into a warm pair of huge brown eyes.

"Uh-you're a-" Apparently coherent speech had decided to abandon him, so he wisely chose to shut his mouth altogether.

He hadn't tripped over just any scrap of a person. He had tripped over a girl. And a pretty one at that: dark-haired, pale and in possession of those gorgeous brown eyes..she seemed the type of girl that people made money from writing stupid poems about. Not that _Suigetsu_ had any experience in such matters, of course.

"I'm sorry," the girl said in a soft voice. "I didn't hear you coming, or I would have moved. You aren't hurt, are you?"

_Was_ he hurt? Because he noted in a daze that his speech functions had definitely stopped working.

The girl blinked at his lack of response, then reached out toward him with a single pale finger. Suigetsu tried not to panic while frantic thoughts of _What's she doing?!_ ran through his mind.

She brought the finger to within an inch or two of his face and moved it to the left. Nonplussed, Suigetsu glanced sideways at the wayward phalange. It moved back to the right, followed by Suigetsu's confused violet gaze.

After a few more 'back-and-forth's the girl was evidently satisfied and let her hand drop back to her lap. "What was that about?" Suigetsu managed to ask.

"Just a simple medical test," she explained gently. "To make sure you're not concussed."

"Oh. Right." Then what was wrong with him, that his heart was pounding and anything he might say in response suddenly sounded unbearably foolish? "So what are you doing out here?" he finally blurted.

He knew at once he's said the exact wrong thing, because the girl's face darkened and her eyes cast themselves downward.

_Crap,_ he thought in horror. _You idiot, you've gone and upset her; fix it fast!_ "Um-sorry," he apologized hurriedly. "You don't have to answer."

She offered him a weak half-smile in thanks, which gave him the courage to put forth another question.

"What's your name?"

Instantly he wondered if she would frown and say it was none of his business, and he'd have to go back to his teachers with the weight of another failure added to his mind. However, the girl merely smiled again and answered, "Haku."

_Haku. That's nice._ The thought invaded his brain uninvited; blushing, he booted it out and spoke to distract himself. "I'm Hozuki Suigetsu."

"Nice to meet you."

"Yeah. You too."

A few moments of quiet awkwardness passed before Suigetsu realized he had to get back to his training. He said as much to the girl, who nodded.

"I might see you around," she added. "I'm usually here."

Suigetsu nodded as well and left. He didn't notice the stupid grin left on his face until he reached the dojo again and Mangetsu pointed it out.

**;;;**

At some point-and Suigetsu would deny ever knowing what this point was-the young swordsman started spending large amounts of his free time meandering about the often-empty road, looking for the girl and usually finding her. Most of his free time became all of his free time, and "I was in the area" turned into "I hoped you'd be around here".

Haku was sweet. She was pretty. She was patient. She was two years older (Suigetsu's metaphorical jaw had crashed to the ground upon hearing _that_ particular piece of news), but that made no difference. Despite his half-hearted mental protests to the contrary, Suigetsu was smart enough to decipher the signs. He was falling for her.

Once or twice, when their conversations took lighthearted turns and Suigetsu said or did something that was apparently funny, Haku would laugh and kiss him on the forehead or cheek. And the young boy's face would burn. In time he came to look forward to those little displays of affection, even purposely saying bizarre things solely to reap the reward.

**;;;**

After about three months or so Suigetsu had come clean to himself (to an extent, at least) about his crush. And being a man of action he decided he was going to do something about it.

Training, Murphy's Law being what it was, ended up running late that day, and Suigetsu knew better than to complain or even sound like he might _want_ to complain. The next day, more of the same. And that day after that as well. The white-haired boy was furious and about an inch away from publicly denouncing the obvious conspiracy when suddenly, things went back to normal. The old routine was back in place as though it had never changed.

With elation and a healthy measure of relief, Suigetsu breezed through his practices, getting smacked and yelled at time and again by his teachers because his mind was so clearly elsewhere. Mangetsu watched him oddly, confused but unwilling to take the risk of asking.

After what felt like forever, training was over and Suigetsu was out the door without even a thought for the cold. It was snowing again, but he barely even noticed.

He high-tailed it to the usual meeting place, that snowy, deserted road, and saw Haku. She looked his way and her face lit up with that smile Suigetsu had come to love.

"Hey," he greeted her. "I-"

"I have something to tell you," Haku said quickly.

Suigetsu blinked, then nodded for her to continue. _Is she going to confess too?_ His mind invented the possibility wildly and his heart started pounding.

"I'm-I'm leaving here," she admitted.

Perplexed, Suigetsu asked, "Leaving..this road?"

She shook her head. "Leaving the village." Her voice dropped in volume. "Leaving Kirigakure."

White noise imploded in Suigetsu's ears. He couldn't believe it. What grudge did the Almighty have against him?

"Are..are you ever coming back?" he heard himself ask weakly.

Biting her lip, Haku shook her head. "I'm sorry, Suigetsu," she said. "I just don't belong here. A kind man is leaving this place and he's taking me with him." Seeing the boy's forlorn expression, she apologized again. "I'm sorry. I know we're friends-"

Suigetsu stood bolt upright. "I like you," he got out, cutting her off. Ignoring Haku's shocked look, he added, "I pretty much always have."

"…"

The lack of response was worrisome. Had he said it wrong?

"Oh." Haku had an odd look on her face; an expression caught somewhere between regret and amusement. "_Oh_. I...Well, that explains things." She gave him a slightly embarrassed smile.

"I think there's been a misunderstanding," she said, causing Suigetsu's brow to furrow. "You see.."

The smile turned apologetic.

"I'm a boy."

Something inside Suigetsu died a horrible, fiery death.

**;;;**

**Owari**

**;;;**

**A/N: Hee, hee. That was too fun! Another contribution to the list of crack pairings…y'know, I actually think this one's rather cute…**


End file.
